The Brass Paperclip Project

DIY: Fruit Snack Flower Bouquet

Raise your hand if you have a food allergy or know someone who does.  Ok...that looks like just about all of you.  If you know anything about living with food allergies, you know that it often means feeling left out at birthday parties while everyone else is gobbling up those egg-tainted cupcakes, iced in dairy and rolled in tree-nuts.  Boo!  That's no fun! 

When you start looking closely at ingredients and food packaging, you begin to realize just how many foods contain allergens...or were made in a factory that processes them...rendering those items inedible to the person with the allergy.  When that person is a child, it can be heart-breaking to say no to sweets and special treats.

Enter the fruit snack flower bouquet.  I came up with this super easy project recently as a birthday treat for a 6-year old with a peanut allergy.  He loves fruit snacks, but many of them are processed in factories that also process peanuts.  The organic ones I used are safe for him, but become cost prohibitive to buy on a regular basis...perfect for a birthday treat!   (Disclaimer: Be sure to read labels and understand your recipient's allergy.  What was safe in my case may not be safe in yours.) 

Even if you're not dealing with allergy issues, this is a great way to surprise a friend, co-worker, teacher (or anyone) with a relatively healthy alternative to candy.  So get your supplies together and get ready to make someone's day! 

SUPPLIES:

*assortment of fruit snacks

*silk flower stems - flowers removed

*tape

*tissue paper

*ribbon

STEP 1: Pop the flowers off your silk flower stems if you haven't already.  You can leave a few buds on for fun. Save the flowers for another project. (I have tons of these flowerless stems on-hand from my bridal accessories business.)

STEP 2: Tape the fruit snacks to the ends of the "naked" stems where the flowers should be.  I taped mine inside the back flap to hide the tape.

STEP 3: Spread out a large piece of tissue paper and arrange your stems into a bouquet.  Wrap the paper up around the bouquet and tie with a ribbon.

Voila!  Instant gift.  Your recipient will feel like Miss (or Mr.) America when you present him or her with this "bouquet." 

So, that's the project.  If you don't have (or don't want to buy) flower stems, you could get creative with floral wire, bamboo bbq skewers or sticks from your yard.  Paper leaves would be easy to cut out and tape to the "branches."  No tissue paper?  No problem...butcher paper, an old map, newspapers or a brown bag would all work just as well.  Have fun with it and be sure to share some pics if you make a bouquet.  If you make the project and blog about it, send me the link and I'll add your blog and photo to the bottom of this post.  Cheers!  XOXO, Cindi

Get Your Frock On

Frocked out at Frock Shop last weekend for the debut trunk show of glam.spoon's new line of Saturday Market Dresses.  I'm serious...the dresses were FROCKING awesome!   Check out all that color!  My favorite was the grey one shown below...mostly because I'm addicted to grey, but also because of the awesome story behind that fabric.

Tina, the designer, created the fabric herself using Spoonflower...a very cool website where you can design and have your own fabric printed.  The print is based on a photo of a rose that Tina grew in her yard and photographed.  She manipulated the image to come up with that gorgeous print.  Then she had it printed and made a dress out of it.  To quote her..."Talk about homegrown!"  The accent fabric on the cuffs and the hems are recycled.  Love!

Here's Tina looking adorable modeling one of her dressed with a gorgeous headpiece right off the shelves of the Frock Shop.

And here's another great head piece by Frock Shop's very own Suzy Fairchild. 

As if the frocks themselves weren't awesome enough...here are some adorable mixed media pieces by artist Stephanie Schultz featuring vintage patterns...love this whole series!

Here's another outfit I loved...the whole sh-bang...crisp little cardi tucked into a vintage-inspired dress with awesome jewelry. Yes, that's a deer head pendant...I would love to wear it and see how many people compliment me on my nice rack!  wink.

And speaking of a nice rack...check out this rack of one-of-a-kind glam.spoon pieces...all on sale too!

The details really make the pieces...I love love love the ruffles.

After the trunk show, I was starving, so I detoured on my way home and hit Burgermaster for a big  ol' burgermaster with cheese....it's a real drive-in, so they actually clip a tray to your car window and play old-timey music...great way to end the night!  (And really, what's a blog post without some mention of food???)

If you've never been to Frock Shop, check it out.  It's adorable.  The clothes are awesome.  And Suzy, the owner, is super nice.  She's got great taste and can help you find the perfect frock.  Now go on...get off the computer and Frock On!   XOXO, Cindi

Farmer's Market Fresh: No. 2

I don't know what it is about strolling through the stalls at the farmer's market that relaxes me so completely.  Maybe it's the sounds of street musicians creating a party-vibe from a block away or the wafting smells of mouth-watering street food or the lush piles of rainbow-hued produce laying in wait... chock full of potential.  Maybe it's taking the time to chat with the vendors and explain what I did with their ingredients last week or what I'm planning to do with them this week.  Maybe it's just shopping outside.  Whatever it is, the combinaton makes me smile each week. 

Interesting ingredients continue to appear, so here's what I cooked for the family last week...farmer's market ingredients are listed after the day of the week.  You can click on the links for recipes and vendor info.

 

MONDAY :: stinging nettles | rainbow chard

I never got to my stinging nettle quiche from last week, so I whipped it up for Monday night dinner. Using tongs and scissors, I was able to cut all the leaves from the stems and get them into the dish without getting stung. Booya!  The recipe called for puff pastry, but I had planned to use a frozen pie crust instead.  At the last minute, I went with the puff pastry and loved it!  Totally easy to do and it was d'lish.  I will definitely be using more puff-pastry when I want to impress.  The quiche itself was ok.  I would use less greens and switch to a goat cheese if I make it again.

Just in case the quiche was a flop, I also made one of my favorite salads, introduced to me by my good friend Brandi Olden, registered dietician from Creating Peace with Food. 

Massaged Kale Salad

This recipe calls for kale, but I made it with rainbow chard.  I've made it many times with all different kinds of greens and it always works beautifully.  It's one of the recipes that gets better the longer it sits in the fridge, so you can make a big batch and enjoy if for a few days. Brandi taught me her trick to make it even more nutritious by adding 2 cups of cooked quinoa to the recipe.  LOVE it!

TUESDAY :: lion's mane mushrooms | kamut | cauliflower

Tuesday's dinner was all about the side dishes, so I made it easy on myself and picked up a roast chicken from PCC for our main course.  That way I could focus my attention on these two amazing sides...

How cool are these Lion's Mane mushrooms I scooped up from Cascadia Mushrooms?  I love mushrooms and make a point to seek out unusual ones whenever I can.  These were totally new to me.  Look at that texture!  The grower told me his favorite way to prepare them is to tear them into pieces and gently cook them over medium heat in a dry pan to release some of their moisture.  Then add butter and garlic and sautee until soft.  He informed me they have a dungeness crab-like texture when cooked, but I didn't quite get that.  They were delicious though.

 

Kamut and Roasted Cauliflower Risotto

The starch and veg component of dinner came from this Whole Foods risotto recipe.  As luck would have it, I recently purchased a small bag of locally grown kamut from Whidbey Island Prairie Grains .  (I know how ridiculously "foodie" that sounds, but if I hadn't just bought the grains, I probably would not have noticed the recipe.)

Hadn't planned on being able to find cauliflower yet, so I was very excited to spot a huge pile of overwintered cauliflower at Nash's Organic Produce.  I snapped up two small heads and finished off the last bag of frozen cauliflower from my garden last year.  Roasted cauliflower is amazing by itself...almost seemed wasted in this risotto.  I did like the risotto though and would make it again with asparagus or broccoli to give the dish more color.

After dinner, the chicken bones went into a pot along with an onion, some carrot and celery stalks, a few bay leaves, peppercorns, parsley, thyme and water to simmer overnight.  (I always simmer bone stock for at least 12 hours to get the full flavor from the bones.)  The stock was ready in the morning to be used later in the week.

 

WEDNESDAY :: fresh beet pasta | asparagus

Fresh Beet Pasta & Sauteed Cod

One of my favorite stops at the farmer's market is La Pasta.  They always have a nice assortment of different flavored pasta including beet, red pepper, spinach and sometimes even squid ink, among others.  And don't get me started about their ravioli flavors!  Mmmm.  For this recipe I chose a gorgeous fresh beet pasta that featured fresh beets from Full Circle Farm.    I also went with halibut instead of cod, because that's what was fresh and local...lucky me!  The leek topping was amazing...probably my favorite part of the dish, after the pasta.  (P.S. Gratuitous food porn photo below from bell'alimento.)

On the side, I served a hefty portion of locally grown asparagus...check out that gorgeous purple color...I had envisioned it being so gorgeous with the pink pasta, but it faded to green and my pasta wasn't that pink either. Oh well!  Was still pretty and yummy.

 

THURSDAY :: andouille sausage | scallions

Dirty Rice with Andouille Sausage

This was the big hit of the week.  OMG - so good!  I picked up some locally made andouille sausage from Olsen Farms.  Their beef is naturally raised, 100% grass and potato fed.  (The farm also grows potatos, so they feed their cattle what they grow.) Mixed up with local green onions, leftover leeks (instead of onions b/c somehow I ran out of onions) and homemade chicken stock (made from the chicken I'm served on Tuesday) it was d'lish!  Thick slices of crusty bread slathered with butter turned out to be the perfect accompaniment...the dish was HOT!  The bread and butter helped put out the fire a bit between bites.

 

FRIDAY :: take-out

Friday night turned out to be burger night.  Seattle is blessed with numerous local burger joints...most of which use high-quality, locally raised beef, potatos, etc. to make really good burgers and fries.  My husband and daughter had a "date-night" at Dick's while I helped out my friend Tina of glam.spoon fame at her first ever trunk show at Frock Shop.  (Watch for my trunk show recap post coming soon!  Was a fun night!!) After the trunk show, I had a hankering for a burger, so I stopped at Burgermaster  on the way home.  So good!

Saturday and Sunday were date night and Mother's Day, so I did not cook.  As much as I love to cook, having someone else cook for me is such a treat!  This week, I'll be working on some recipes from one of my favorite cook books, so I hope you'll check back next Monday for Farmer's Market Fresh No. 3 with the scoop from the farmers market, plus recipe reviews. 

If you're not already following me somewhere, here's how you can stay in touch so you don't miss a thing...

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 XOXO, Cindi

P.S. If you've never been to a farmer's market, you are missing out!  You can find one near you by visiting LocalHarvest.org.  All you need to do is put in your zip code and they will tell you what's closest to you.

5 Minute Foodie: Pineapple Vanilla Tequila

Oh, how I love a good boozy project and this to-die-for pineapple & vanilla infused tequila is no exception.  I have a big crush on this one...not a lot of words are needed...

Find yourself a pineapple, a few vanilla beans and a big jug o' tequila...cut your vanilla beans in half, slice them lengthwise & drop them in a mason jar.  Stuff in some pineapple.  Cover it all with tequila.  Let it sit.  Drink it when you're happy with the flavor.  You'll have a nice infusion in a week, but you can leave it for up to six months.

Goes great with a beer...Salud!  To the good life!

P.S. If you don't know how to cut up a pineapple, here's a great tutorial.  And yes, this goes against my locavore principals, but sometimes you gotta break the rules.  At least support an organic farmer and buy organic.  Now go get a pineapple and get going...summer's coming!  XO

Handmade Holidays: Helping Hand Towels

Giving myself a hand for sneaking this one in just under the wire....

You didn't forget that Mother's Day is this Sunday, did you?  And you already have a charming handmade gift ready for mom, right??  If not, here's a quick and dirty DIY project that also makes a very handy gift...Helping Hand Towels!  I know.  So clever, right?  Suffice to say, this is not my unique idea, but I thought I'd share my version anyway because it turned out pretty cute.  I was inspired by something I saw on Pinterest a while back, but for the life of me, I've never been able to find the link again.  And, yes, it feels a little sexist to me to be giving the grandmom's kitchen towels, but they all like to cook and spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Why not give them a hand while they're in there?  I also like that it's actually a useable form of kid art.  So there it is.  My justification for this project...as if I really needed it.  ;)

You only need a few supplies to get this going.  I bought new flour sack towels (4/$10) and scavenged our art supply stash for some fabric paint and a paint brush.

STEP 1: Wash, dry and iron your towels. 

STEP 2: Grab a paintbrush and start by painting the hand you want to print. We were using puffy paint from a tube, so I just squeezed it into my daughter's hand and let her spread the paint with a brush.  I didn't realize we would end up with brush strokes in the final hand-print, but decided I really like the way it turned out.  I bet you could use a foam brush for less stroke marks.

STEP 3: Firmly press the painted hand onto the towel making your print.  Repeat steps 2 & 3 as needed to make as many prints as you like.  My husband and I also took turns making our own hand-prints to send to our moms and we made one towel to keep for ourselves with all of our hand-prints.  :)

STEP 4: Let dry, then follow manufacturer's instructions for setting your paint. 

STEP 5: Step back and admire your handywork. ;)

Here's a shot of my 5 year-old's hand print next to her 5 day-old hand print...hard to believe how much she's grown!

That's it.  That's all there is to it.  Hope you liked this project and are able to make some of your own.  If you have a little more time and want another cute Mother's Day gift idea, check out the recycled Mother's Day Hat Boxes we made to hold homemade sweets.  We're all about handmade holidays around here.  So seriously, you didn't forget that Mother's Day is this weekend, right???  Best day of the year...  XO, Cindi

 

Something Old, Something New...and a glam.spoon Trunk Show Too

I frequently chat about my friend Tina Witherspoon of glam.spoon, a local fashion designer and style blogger whom I met at Urban Craft Uprising a few years ago.  I stumbled into her glam.spoon booth and instantly fell in love with her re-fashioned designs.  After "flirting" on Twitter for a few months, we finally met again for coffee and didn't stop talking for hours.  We have wildly different lifestyles, so we don't often get the chance to see each other, but we try to keep in touch via FB, Twitter, Pinterest...all those places we both love to hang out. 

Not too long ago, she rescued me from a serious fashion dilemma and I have been remiss in not blogging about it sooner.  It was January.  The holidays were over.  I needed a black, full-length, formal evening gown and there were none to be found.  What's a girl to do?  Feeling rather clever, I hit Tina up for ideas about where to find a black, full-length, formal evening gown in January.  Duh.  Then I remembered she could probably design one for me. 

So...I just happened to have this vintage wedding dress hanging in my closet:

And it fit.  I hoped, fingers crossed, that Tina would be able to transform it into a black, full-length formal evening gown....not too tall of an order, is it?  We started by looking at an LBD inspiration board I put together on Pinterest of dresses and details that I liked.  I also showed her some of the dresses in my closet, so she could get an idea of what styles I like and what I think looks good on me.  Ultimately, the dress sort of revealed to us what it could be as Tina deftly peeled away the layers of paper lining in the skirt and stripped off the lace bodice. 

A fan of fabric dye, Tina soaked the dress in three dye baths to get it to a deep black.  What used to be the outer skirt fabric became the lining after she added sheer black fabric over the top to create some movement and depth.  The bodice features some fantastic fabric that Tina created herself by stitching and pleating black tulle.  Amazing what this gal can do with a needle and thread!

Here is the bodice in process:

And here I am wearing the final design.  (Excuse the crazy hair...was windy on the balcony!) 

The transformation was remarkable!  You simply can not tell this was ever a wedding dress.  I accented the neckline with a vintage brooch that I love and a shoe splurge that I had to have.  The whole look was vintage elegance...exactly what we were going for. 

And so, this brings me to the second point of this post.  Tina is having her very first trunk sale this Friday night at Frock Shop on Phinney Ave. N.  It's being held in conjunction with the monthly Phinneywood Art Walk, which is also a fabulous event.  I'm so excited that Tina has asked me to come help out with her show, so I'll be at Frock Shop with her meeting, greeting, styling and cheering her on.  If you live in the area, definitely put it on your calendar and come make a night of it.  Tina will be featuring her new spring/summer line starting at 6pm.  She usually only makes one-of-a-kind pieces from recycled materials, but at her show she's introducing a specially designed, limited-run, locally manufactured "Saturday Market Dress" in a range of sizes and a variety of prints...she has even designed some of the prints herself. 

It's going to be a lot of fun, so don't miss out!  Come meet Tina and check out her amazing work.  Hope to see you there!

DIY Recycled Mother's Day Hat Box

Mother's Day is fast approaching, so I am excited to share this simple DIY hat box project that you can make to wow your mom.  :)

I made candied orange peels to give as gifts this year and wanted a creative container to put them in.  Inspired by these recycled yogurt tub leprechaun hats, I came up with these flowery glittered garden hats to make with my 5-year-old...although with the flat top, I think they feel a little more gangsta than garden...lol.  (They'd be cute as Gangsta Easter hats too.)   So, lets get started.  Go raid your recycling bin and gather your supplies...

SUPPLIES:

* clean recycled dairy containers (yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese, etc.)

* glue

* paint brush

* glitter

* dish or tray to catch glitter

* spray sealant (optional)

* card stock or recycled cardboard

* glue

* asst. ribbon, silk flowers and trims

STEP 1: Apply thick coat of glue to outside of clean dairy container using brush or finger.  Sprinkle glitter over wet glue.  Work in small sections so the glue doesn't dry out before you get to it with the glitter.  You may want to work over a tray or dish to catch any glitter that doesn't stick.  Then you can pour it back into your glitter bottle.  Optional: Spray with acrylic sealant to help keep the glitter from falling off...as much.  Let dry.

STEP 2: Cut a circle from cardstock a few inches wider than the lid of your container.  This will be the brim for your hat, so pick a color you like.  (Mine was 7" diameter - sized specifically to fit in a USPS priority mail 7x7x6 box.)  I had leftover cardstock from some invitations I did a while back, but you could also use recycled cardboard from a cereal or cracker box and cover it with paint, paper or glitter. 

STEP 3: Glue ribbon or trim along outside edge of lid. Then run a line of glue around the outer edge of the lid and stick it to center of cardstock circle.  I used hot glue for both, but Elmer's would work if you're patient enough to wait for it to dry.

STEP 4: Invert your glittered container and snap it into the lid.  Arrange your flowers, feathers, etc. (hiding the seam of your ribbon) and attach them to the brim with glue.  NOTE: The lid still needs to be able to come off, so don't glue it shut. 

STEP 5: Fill your container with goodies and snap the lid shut.

Here's the finished product all put together and ready to mail out to the grandma's in our family. I decorated the first one and my daughter did the other two.  Love the way they turned out!

I hope this inspires you to get creative with your stash and make something trashy - or gangsta! - for mom.  If you make any hat boxes share your photos!  It would be fun to see how many variations of this project there are.  I'll share some tips for making candied orange peels in the next post...for a full-on Trash-to-Treasure Mother's Day.  

If you're not already following me somewhere, here's how you can stay in touch so you don't miss a thing...

 

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 XOXO, Cindi

 

Supermoon in Seattle this Saturday night at 8:34pm. Set your clocks so you don't miss it. The moon will appear huge! I'm excited.

Farmer's Market Fresh: No. 1

Happy Monday!  I hope everyone had a nice weekend...ours went by too quickly, as usual.  No oyster picking adventures this week, but my husband made some good progress on our chicken coop and I enjoyed my weekly shopping adventure at the farmer's market.  Eating local has become very important to me over the past few years, so I've really fallen in love with Seattle's farmer's markets. I love shopping there, supporting our local farmers and building relationships with the people who grow, catch, harvest and produce my food. 

One of my favorite things about shopping at the farmer's market is finding unusual ingredients and then asking the vendors about their favorite ways to prepare them.  This week I scored a pile of fresh, local, spring edibles that I've never cooked with before and had a blast planning my menus for the week.

My go-to sources for recipes online are usually Pinterest, Foodgawker and All Recipes. I'm a sucker for the food porn photos on Pinterest and Foodgawker, but I really like the ratings system and comments on All Recipes.  Between those three sites, I came up with this amazing menu plan for the week featuring all the farmer's market goodies I picked up:

 

MONDAY :: spot prawn | rainbow radish | fiddlehead fern

Spot Prawns on Rainbow Radish Fiddlehead Potato Salad

This gorgeous recipe comes from Gourmet Fury and features three of the ingredients I picked up at the market: Hama Hama spot prawns, rainbow radishes and foraged fiddlehead ferns.  (I was lucky to get the prawns from Dan The Oyster Man at the Hama Hama Oyster Co. booth...he had sold almost his entire allotment for the weekend and it was only Saturay morning.)  The fiddleheads came from one of my favorite booths...Foraged and Found Edibles.  Even their signage is amazing!

As an added bonus, I'm going to toss in a few sauteed morel mushrooms we found growing in our back yard.  I know!  Lucky us!

 

TUESDAY :: wood sorrel

Sorrel and Yukon Gold Potato Soup

One of my favorite farmer's market treasures this week was a gorgeous bag of wood sorrel that I picked up from Foraged and Found Edibles.  It looks like shamrocks and has a bright lemony flavor.  I was excited when I found this recipe from The Vintage Mixer because it uses a fair amount of sorrel. Many wood sorrel recipes I've found only call for a handful of leaves, but I've got a whole bag to use up. I believe she's using a different variety of sorrel than what I have, but I'm going to try it anyway.  I picked up a nice bag of local organic Yukon Gold potatoes this morning and will serve this with warm crusty bread and butter.

WEDNESDAY :: mizuna

Orechiette with Mizuna Pesto

I've been hearing a lot about mizuna lately, but have never used it in my cooking.  I found a few bunches of both regular and red mizuna at the market, so I bought one of each.  This recipe from Burp! looks so simple and fresh.  Look at that green! My husband and I both love traditional pesto, but haven't spread our wings to try any new variations...looking forward to this one!

Instead of orechiette, I'll be using a gorgeous Girella pasta I picked up at a cooking class at ChefShop last week. (More about that cooking class in a separate post this week.)

THURSDAY :: salmon | rhubarb

Sauteed Salmon and Rhubarb Marmalade

I love Strawberry-Rhubarb pie as much as the next person, but there's only so much pie a gal can eat.  (Full disclosure: I once ate an entire strawberry-rhubarb pie by myself during a rare break in my morning sickness while pregnant with my daughter!)  But back to the story...I bought some rhubarb from Stony Plains this week hoping to find a way to work it into a sweet and savory entree. 

The recipe I found from Food & Wine fit the bill perfectly...especially since I had also purchsed a nice piece of salmon from Seattle's own Loki Fish Co.  My only regret is that my own peas aren't big enough to sacrifice a few shoots for the topping.  Guess I'll have to make this again later in the spring.  (wink.) As a side to this dish, I'll be sauteeing up some rapini that I also picked up at the market.  I love it in quiche, but this week it shall stand alone. 

 

FRIDAY :: take-out

Friday night is not usually a cooking night for me.  Happy hour happens with our friends down the street and we take turns springing for take-out.  Gotta love Fridays!

 

WEEKEND :: stinging nettles | red mizuna

Weekends are tricky for meal planning around here.  We never seem to know what we'll be doing and with weather as flaky as it is in the northwest, we jump on the sun whenever it shines...leaving no desire to be in the kitchen.  As a result, I've been trying to plan ahead to make quiches, casseroles, etc. that can just be popped in the over for a quick and easy weekend meal. This plan also helps me extend the life of tender greens from the market and is giving me lots of ideas for how to use up all the eggs our chicks will soon be laying!

This week I'll be making two:

Stinging Nettle Quiche

This quiche from Babyccino Kids is super easy and sounds d'lish.  I'll be skipping the puffed pastry and using whole wheat pie shells from my freezer.  I've never cooked with stinging nettles, but have been told that with gloves or tongs, I should be able to escape the stinging part...once they are cooked, they are harmless.  We'll see...

Bacon Mizuna Frittata

We're pretty much obsessed with bacon around here, so I'm very excited to try this recipe from The Paelo Periodical.  I'll be using the red mizuna I picked up at the market, so I'm hoping it will add a nice splash of color to the dish.

So that's the week.  What do you think?  Got a favorite recipe for spring edibles?  I'd love to hear about it, so please feel free to leave some comments.  I'll shoot out some photos and recipe feedback throughout the week, so feel free to follow me on Facebook or Twitter for the extras.  :) 

Seattle Flash Mob...and a Marriage Proposal

Hot Damn!  This is how to get engaged...

 

Here is the flash mob I chickend out of joining last week.  It's one of my bucket list "things to do", but for some reason, I was scared to join the rehearsals...next time for sure!  Turned out to be a HUGE event...800+ people at Westlake Park...right smack in the heart of downtown Seattle.  Kicking myself now for not being braver.  If you live in Seattle and want to get involved with a flash mob, check out Mob The World for more info.  Let me know if you're going and maybe you can hold my hand...pretty please?  And congrats to the happy couple!